90 day Writing Challenge, day 30:The end of Helicopter Parenting and the Overscheduled Kid?

So the pendulum has swung according to today’s NY Times magazine, and now new parents are saying enough with over protecting their children. The backlash is against the idea that parents are so involved with their children and putting them on the track to success. 

One criticism is against over scheduling your kids for activities. I for one support this. I don’t think a kid needs or wants to be scheduled every minute of the day. From my own observation, kids look forward to some unstructured time to just let their mind wander, play, and be silly. Especially when they are in the early years of school.

As parents, one of the issues we fail to consider is what do the kids actually need or want. For example, we may love soccer, but the kid is more interested in butterfly’s, because the game may not fun for them. On the other hand, our kids may wish to swing on the swing for long stretches of time and be quite content, and then we interrupt it for a chance for them to maybe hit a ball a few times in little league. 

If our game is cancelled on the weekend, my kids would go from swinging, to kicking the soccer ball, to playing music, to playing a computer game, to reading with one of us, to having a jumping party with sofa cushions on the couch, to fighting with one another, making up, and running around the house, literally climbing up the door way, playing a board game, to swinging, and running outside in the sprinkler. The point being they would create ways to have fun.

To me, the question is who is all the activity for- the kids or the parents? From what I’ve observed, there are many middle to upper middle class kids that are just hungry for some down time with their parents. In fact, whenever I’m reading to my kids or hanging out with them near a park, kids will flock around us.

Where are there parents, you might ask? They’re usually on their laptops, Blackberry’s, or on the cell phone. I guess spontaneous, unstructured time with kids is not as much fun…for the parents.

90 day writing challenge, day 29: Republicans playing the “race card?”

I had no idea the Republicans were so desperate. It appears they have reduced themselves to using the “race card.” They have been working through Rush, Cheney, Liddy, and more to instill fear in Americans about President Obama’s selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

It appears they believe she is a left wing radical with ties to “La Raza.” And furthermore, she believes in Affirmative Action. Their tactics seem equivalent to realtor’s that created a culture of “white flight.” They appear to want her to listen and judge cases as if racism, poverty, and discrimination do not exist in our world. 

Additionally, they want you to believe this is not an issue about race-but it is. They want her to be a  Hispanic judge in name only. They don’t want her to convey appearances, affects, values, beliefs, or politics that reflect a strong connection to be Hispanic. They would rather she behave and act like white judges before her. What they don’t want to consider is that those judges were living out the values of the Euro centric countries they were connected to.

They want a world that looks diverse, but acts within their value system. Its like Robert Duval’s  character in the Godfather. He could be part of the Italian Mafia, but because he was Irish, he was never going to truly have access to power.

So if an African American, Hispanic, or Asian shun their roots, the Republicans might embrace them; but their power will always be limited. Just watch how easily they shun Colin Powell for supporting Obama. And I don’t see them jumping to the defense of Alberto Gonzalez. And if the Republicans reclaim power, do you really believe Michael Steele or Bobby Jindal will be the new faces of the party?

And the truly amazing part of their fear tactics is that President Obama, Michelle Obama, and Judge Sotomayor are about as white bread as any African American or Hispanic can be. They may not have been when they entered the Ivy league world, but they certainly were by the time they left.  And if the Republicans can still muster up these scare tactics, then I hope Judge Sotomayor drives to the Supreme Court in a 1967 Chevy low rider.

90 day challenge, day 28: Fr. Cutie Engaged and Joining the Episcopalians!!

When I briefly saw this story on CNN, it was as if Alex Rodriguez was leaving the Yankees to go to the Red Sox. It appears Fr. Cutie has decided to leave the Catholic church and join the Episcopalians. The CNN interview with an Episcopalian Bishop and Catholic priest was a tale of two cities.

The Catholic priest sounded so stiff and matter of fact about the departure of Fr. Cutie and the dialogue about celibacy in the Catholic church. While the Episcopalian bishop appeared more playful.  When he was asked if he thought Fr. Cutie will marry his girlfriend, the bishop responded, “He’d be crazy not to. She’s beautiful.” And then as if to not rub it in the Catholic priests face, he said, ” Fr. Cutie can marry her or be celibate, either way is fine with us.”

Coming off of the negative publicity about President Obama’s visit to Notre Dame, the loss of Fr. Cutie to the Episcopalians has got to hurt the Catholics. While the Catholics will miss him, they no doubt appreciate all he has done for the church. And in a true Catholic style, we’d like to provide this brief musical good bye to Fr. Cutie, Fr. Alberto, our own Padre Oprah.

90 day Writing Challenge, day 27: Reverse Racism?-Really?!

What exactly does Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh mean when they use the expression, “reverse racism?” I suspect we are supposed to hear it and quickly react in anger that now, Caucasians, are being treated unfairly. And hell, after all the political correctness policing thats gone on for years , how come Obama can go and pick  a “racist,” supreme court nominee? And by the way,  why is she called a racist?

It appears Judge Sotomayor once remarked ,“wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Clearly she said more than this, but since when does context matter?

As soon as the tape came on, she was labelled a “reverse racist.” All over Fox news, you could hear one person after another say more or less the same statement, “if a white man made that comment about a Hispanic or African American, he would be disqualified.” To hear them is to minimize what racism is. It is to suggest that racism is fundamentally a game of semantics. Its about name calling.

Personally, I believe it’s reasonable to compare herself to white men, since they have historically been judges in this country. Additionally her unique story line would have to provide her with a perspective that is different from one who has led a more sheltered and protected life. 

Does this imply she will not apply the rules of law? Absolutely not! It does however say she may be more attuned to how ethnicity,racism and poverty may contribute to a problem in a way a white man might not. The problem is not her ability to be “empathic.” The issue is how does she use the law and her experience as a Latina who experienced poverty  to make sound decisions. 

Let’s face it, there have been numerous examples of judges overidentifying with white plantiffs and putting away people of color because of it. And I’m not talking about the past, I’m talking about 2009. An African American District Attorney in Dallas, Texas, who is probably better able to identify and understand the plight of African American men in the judicial system appears to be trying to apply DNA sampling and the law to young African American men who were wrongfully sentenced to 10 or more years in jail.

90 day Writing Challenge, day 26: An empathic response to Judge Sonia Sotomayor

If you watch CNN, CNBC, or any of the other cable outlets, you will hear them summarize Sonia Sotomayor’slife in a few sentences. She grew up in public housing in the Bronx, was diagnosed with diabetes, lost her father at 9, had a difficult first semester at Princeton, and went on to Yale and became editor of the law review. When I hear them, I realize how detached most of the media is to her experience. They don’t know how to connect with it. They lack “empathy.”-(not a code word for anything in this case.) So rather than really delving into this story line, they call it “the American Dream,” “pulling oneself up by their bootstraps.” To me, this is a cop out. The truth is her story line defy’s all  the bullshit they told themselves about why they didn’t make more of themselves.

Take one minute and try to imagine if you had to live in the worst section of town. As a part of that, consider how dangerous, it would be to leave home and go to school. Now, imagine, you are told you have diabetes and have to take insulin. For an 8 year old, this would suck. It would probably be frightening, and one more reason to say life stinks. And if she said, “I’m not going to do it,” who could blame her?.And then when you figure you’ve got it as bad as it gets, your 42 year old dad dies from heart complications.  Did you hear that, your dad dies, you’ve got diabetes, your living in a housing project, you don’t speak much English, and you are 9 years old. Let’s stop there.  How do you think you or your kid would deal with that, especially if you are poor?

Imagine if your father died when you were nine, what would you do? how would you feel? Imagine how different it would feel to come home. Imagine how hard it would be turn to mom for anything when she is grieving and just trying to hold it together. Imagine how frightening the future would look. Imagine how tempting it would be to look for the easy way out. Imagine having to add all of this stress to your nine year old life. I’m guessing most counselors or experts at the time predicted she would, at best make it, through high school. For her to then learn English, and do well enough in school while her mother juggled two jobs is remarkable. If her mother went into a deep depression, stayed at home, and became addicted to drugs, it would almost be understandable. That she didn’t is incredible.  

How many kids do you know who can barely muster C’s, with all the resources known to man available to them. Moreover how many kids do you know that don’t do jack squat in grade school or high school, but will be welcomed into a private college and possibly a professional degree program? Her story of then being accepted into Princeton would be impressive enough, but her brother went on to medical school too.

If you have applied for any kind of scholarship, you know how much work it takes to put all of the materials together. How does a woman working two jobs to support two kids, come up with time to apply for grants and applications for her kids. More than likely, teachers and counselors took an interest  and helped her through the process. But don’t think for a minute that the transition from a tight Puerto Rican community to the Ivy at Princeton was easy. If you doubt me, think about what it would be like for you to leave the comfort of your community and live in one very different than yours. And one where you are the outsider in appearance, finances, and culture.To then overcome poor writing habits and win prestigious academic awards at Princeton and then go to Yale law school and serve as editor of the Yale Law Review is impressive on its own. But to do so after starting the race in public housing is amazing. 

It is funny to me that people question whether her race or story line should be a factor in the decision to elect her to the supreme court. But how can it not be. When we have had as many Hispanic supreme court justices as we have had caucasian men, then we can evaluate where she ranks in comparison to those others. But for now, after you establish that she is qualified, you look at her story as a person. And considering what she has had to accomplish to get here, I feel quite confident she is prepared for any and all challenges that lay ahead of her on the supreme court.

90 day Writing Challenge, day 25: Do Reading Glasses Count as real “Glasses?”

As I look around my typing area, I see my wife’s reading glasses and feel mine on the bridge of my nose. For most of my life, I never wore glasses. In fact, it was a source of pride to tell others that I had better than 20-20 vision. But recently, I’ve joined the millions of Americans who depend on glasses for reading or using the computer. 

In some ways, by entering this see through world, with glasses slightly better than reading specs, I feel like a bit of a second class  citizen. It’s like when you are told you have diabetes, and then they tell you its only type 2. Sure its diabetes, but it doesn’t garner the same respect or pity that type 1 does.

For now, I’m OK with taking on and off my glasses in private. However I’m not sure I’m ready to navigate the world with glasses on. I can’t quite imagine experiencing the world through glass or plastic. Hell, I’m  not even that crazy about wearing sunglasses. I like the experience of  always feeling like I”m in a convertible with the top down. I imagine always wearing glasses would be like having a windshield in front of you 24/7.

Moreover having spent so much of my life without glasses, I fear everyone would look at me and say, “who does he think he is-he sooooo doesn’t need glasses.” And what if I worked too hard to fit in and started putting white tape on the bridge or a safety pin on the arm of the glasses? In addition what would it say about me if I practically put the lens in my mouth and said, “aahhh” and then wiped them clean? Is that too old school? Is it a faux pa us to use a lens case?

And when the inevitable question comes up about my glasses, do I reply like so many before me? “Oh, you like them, thanks, this is an old pair. ” “I normally wear contacts.” “I can’t stand contacts.” ” Funny, you should notice my glasses because tomorrow I’m going to have lasix surgery, so I’ll never wear them again.”

90 day writing challenge, day 24: Starbuck Wisdom, #7

On my way to work, I had the thought that everything is worth writing about. I guess I wanted to explore what would happen if I focused on little things around me, rather than looking for hot topicswithin society. So I remembered that Starbucks usually posts something on its cups that I rarely read. Today’s ” The Way I see it,#7″ is by Cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

“What I look for in musicians is generosity. There is so much to learn from each other and about each other’s culture. Great creativity begins with tolerance.”

My first association was to the NPR program, “This I believe.” As I understand it, the program has been cancelled, so I guess that means Starbucks can own this market all to itself.  I don’t think of musicians and generosity. I think about sound and feeling. And I wonder if  they reach through me with their connection to the music.

While I agree there is so much to learn about each others culture through music, I think it has to start very early in life. I think my kids are far more open to connecting to culture through music than I am.

Lastly, my initial reaction is to agree with his statement about creativity and tolerance. But upon further reflection, tolerance seems too mild for creativity. I think of words like bold, daring, or bursting through when I think of creativity. However there needs to be tolerance for the range of emotions and creative expression or the sound becomes pretty bland.

90 day Writing Challenge, day 23: When was the last time you flew a kite?

As part of our Memorial day tradition, we have taken to flying kites. It began several years ago when we went to a city wide kite festival near the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It was an amazing site to see kites of all colors and sizes floating in the sky. There were dragons, box kites, and everything you needed to make a kite and take off. 

So yesterday, we met up with some friends along Lake Michigan, and let the fun begin. We were well equipped with our $1.99 kites from Walgreen’s.  Some of our friends brought the big Chinese dragon kites. Others had the super powered rocket ships. And one even had a kite that not only flew, but was constructed to sound like a buzzing bee. Some barely got off the ground, but our Walgreen’s kite touched the clouds and seemed very reluctant to come down.

You remember that line from the movie, “Field of Dreams,” “If you build it, they will come.” Wow, is that ever true for kites. Despite open fields, soccer games, and playgrounds; kids from all over came over to watch the kites. They wanted to put them together, touch them, and hold them in flight.

At one point, this very lonely boy, came by and asked to hold the kite. Despite my request that he hold on tight, he, of course let go. However two older boys ran after it in this jumping, laughing, silly manner.  They seemed sure they could catch it. But …..the kite flew away.

90 day Writing Challenge, day 22: Which “Must See ” Movies Haven’t You Seen?

In my life, there are three movies that people  have  inspired people to say to me, “you have to see this,” and yet I never have. Knowing myself as I do, I suspect I avoided these movies because I tend to become very suspicious when so many people tell me I ” have to” do something. But recently, I heard a pod cast about one of these movies , and I thought maybe its time. And more importantly, its a movie my kids could watch too.

I’m referring to “E. T.”.  Yes it’s true, I never saw it. I am familiar with some of the catch phrases, but beyond that, I couldn’t tell you anything about the movie. The same is true for “Kramer vs. Kramer.” I knew it was about divorce. My parents didn’t go through a divorce and I didn’t know people who did, so it didn’t consume my life in the way it did for others. And the last film is “Dancing With Wolves.”

I have known people who went to  this film multiple times. Not me, I could barely stand hearing people promote the hell out of it. The only aspect of the movie I could connect to was a t-shirt that came out in response to the film; where there is Far Side Cartoon of one guy sitting by himself in a large convention hall, with words under the image that said, “convention of people who haven’t seen Dancing With Wolves.” 

So I suspect E. T. will be the first one to be scratched off the list because I’m desperate for some G rated movies for my kids. But I doubt I’ll ever see the others. What about you? Are there movies you just never got around to seeing, but everyone else tried to persuade you that you had to see it?

90 day Writing Challenge, day 21: Is a boner worth potential blindness?

Ok, I want to work on day 21, but today I really feel stuck-so much so that I’m going to write about Fiber One to get things moving.

There is a certain point in life where you realize all the shows you watch have advertisements for drugs. Many which include warnings about erections that last longer than 4 hours! I think I just came up with another blog topic. However when I checked to make sure it was a 4 hour and not an 8 hour erection, I learned that these drugs have also caused blindness in 38 men. With that news, the drug manufacturers are “considering” putting a warning label on the bottle about it’s possible side effect. 

Can you imagine what that would be like for a man who has never had sex? I can picture him taking the pill, feeling this unusual surge of heat and change in his body, and then bam!!!-he’s blind and has a 4 hour erection.  If he’s Catholic, you know he’ll be in confession the next day, “bless me father for I have sinned, it’s been at least 4 hours since my last erection..shit@#!…I mean confession.

90 day writing challenge, day 20: Giving and Receiving Rainbows

Day 20- I’ve got 70 more days to go. I am beginning to wonder why I bothered to do this.  Since not to many people seem to be reading it, it has to be for me. So while my wife plays soccer with my oldest son and gramps looks over the gifts my son received for his “half birthday,” I’m trying to write. 

What is a half birthday? When I was a kid, there was no such thing as anything but a birthday. It appears there was some concern for those kids who could not celebrate during the year. My son…and I happen to be one of those people. Therefore I am more supportive and empathic about this topic than I might ordinarily be.  

In fact, I went to my son’s class for the ceremony. It was really quite impressive. It begins with him wearing a self made crown. He marched to the center of the circle with me at his side. The teacher then brought out the folder with all of his gifts. Remarkably, the gifts included, rainbows, turtles, parts of the world, colorful rain, and many original works of art. I loved it.

The children seemed quite proud of their creations and my son seemed as happy to receive it.  If only we as adults could be so happy to receive a rainbow.

90 day Writing Challenge,day19: Don’t Close Kiddieland!

The Chicago Tribune reported that this will be the last summer for Kiddie Land. Last summer, my kids had an incredible time there. I had not been there in years. So, great after 81 years, now they’ve got to close it.

Unlike the neighborhood carnivals or the over the top Six Flags, Kiddie land is perfect for the under 10 crowd. The Merry go rounds have this beautifully crafted retro cars, motorcycles and vehicles for the kids to ride on. The wooden roller coasters have all the rumbling and excitement of old school coasters. What I love is you pay one price and then the kids are off: bumper cars, tilt a whirl, log runs, or just riding old cars. I’m not crazy about the free soda, but the kids love it.

The article suggested the owners of the land want to sell it to Costco. Don’t get me wrong, I love Costco. I depend on Costco every month, but it doesn’t seem worth tearing this place down for a giant big box store. When will this country learn to retain something if it has a unique presence or value. Can’t we learn from cities like Rome? Do you really think they are ever going to destroy the Roman Forum for a new Target?

90 day Writing Challenge, day 17: Do you really think Obama wants to kill babies?

I have no problem with a debate about abortion. However I can’t even begin to take the extreme pro-life people seriously when they describe Obama as a “baby killer.” Moreover when these right wing agitators hold the campus hostage so they can espouse their radial views, it’s really  hard to do anything but laugh. When a grown man describes putting dolls with fake blood in carriages and strolling through campus, he sounds like an idiot. When they fly overhead to express their views with skywriters, they strike me as self serving idiots. Did they ever consider the fact that there are students preparing for and taking final exams? And when they intrude the graduation to make their extreme point, I simply wonder how drunk are they?

Let’s get real folks. How many people really want a woman to go through an abortion? Don’t you think many women that have gone through one have debated whether it was the right choice or not?   You have to wonder if these extreme pro-life people would tell their own daughters that they must continue with the pregnancy and keep the baby if they were raped? And once the child comes, you have to wonder if they will love the child till he/or she is 18?

This debate is so tiring because it has been argued and portrayed in the media by the most extreme positions on either side. I tend to believe there are more of us that would support the President.  Specifically when he suggests that the goal should be to reduce the number of abortions. Clearly few of us would argue with a woman who was pregnant as a result of a rape wanting to have an abortion. However I think the debate will continue about women who elect to have an abortion because of unsafe sex, or use it as a form of birth control. It sounded to me like the President was suggesting we consider ways to educate young women so they are less likely to get pregnant and to help them consider alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, when they are pregnant.

Let’s use our blogs and our time to think this through rather than shouting the same nasty arguments back and forth and expecting different results.

90 day writing challenge, day 16: Time for David Blaine Street Magic, part 3-yeah!

I realize if I ‘m going to stick to this 90 day writing challenge, then I ‘m going to have to have both long and short blogs to share. Today’s will be a short one. As some of you know, I find this parody of David Blaine incredibly funny. The interaction between “Blaine” and the two over the top gay dudes is really amazing. If you haven’t seen the first two parts, you really should check it out.

90 day Challenge, day 18: Would you rather grow the longest ear hair or Cut hair with your teeth?

Today, Indians are making themselves known in business, politics, entertainment and more. They are a humble yet competitive people. So when I researched unique Guinness book of record holders, I was not surprised to see Indians dominate in many categories. In fact, it was difficult to decide between the Indian strong man who could split a phone book in half, the Indian man with the longest mustache, or the ones I chose. Why did I select the story about the man with the most ear hair?

I think it was because I was touched by his story. It was sad to hear how this talent that brought him and his family so much pride and joy was also the source of ridicule and scorn. It was especially sad to hear his son’s struggle to hear university students and faculty shame his father for his accomplishments. This would be hard for any son to watch. To him, he was just dad, but to some in academia, he was the man with too much ear hair.

After holding back the tears, it was good to lighten the story with the contrasting experience of the young Indian man who was working hard to hold the record for most haircuts with his teeth…clearly a story you’ll want to sink your teeth into.

90 day Writing challenge, day 15: The Challenges of Coaching 7 and 8 year old boys

I love coaching my son’s soccer team for 7 and 8 year olds. It is a challenging and confusing age. Since they are so capable of physically doing more than they could just a year or two ago, it takes me by surprise when they cry, or feel frustrated that someone is calling them names or kicking them. Its like their physical strength is ahead of their emotional life.

For the last two weeks, I’ve had my players point out an opposing player who is kicking, punching, or taunting them. On one hand, I want them to just ignore it. But the truth is I think it is genuinely confusing to them. At home and at school, they are expected to follow the rules, and are punished for shoving back. So why would it be fair in a soccer game.Moreover when we agree to coach, we are asked to teach the kids about good sportsmanship. But when I’ve approached the opposing  coaches about the parents and kids concerns, they’ve simply justified or rationalized their players behavior.

So when I returned to my players and they asked, “what should I do coach? Should I kick them back?” A part of me wants to say, “yeah, and kick the opposing coach too.” But instead, I’ve opted for telling them to take the anger and use it to boot goals, and steal the ball away.  To me, they’ve got time to learn about playing dirty. I’d rather they learn to play the game the right way and let their emerging skill and talent do the talking.

And so far, it seems to work. They haven’t lost yet and they creamed those teams!

90 day writing Challenge,day 14: Help, My Cats in the tree and he won’t come down!!

We have two cats. One is fat,  likes to sleep, and snuggle next to you. And the other is slender, anxious, and looks for any moment to sneak out the back door with you. Once he is in the yard, we all try to figure out how to quiet the others, so we can snatch him up and bring him back inside the house. After going through this ordeal for the last couple of weeks, we decided to let him hang out in the yard with us. It was going well, till someone asked where’s the cat?….”look mom, he’s in the tree ,” said my youngest son.

Yes he decided to venture up the tree. “Cats are great at climbing up, but not always so good about coming down,” my wife said. “That’s why people have called the fire department to come over and help.”  When  I heard that, my internal shame meter went from 0-60. There is no way I am calling the fire department over to our house to get a cat. Furthermore I am not about to  answer questions from gawkers that will come over to watch the show their tax dollars paid for.

So we try coaxing him for about 10 minutes, and then agree to wait and see what happens. At that point, my wife and son leave for the grocery store. My youngest son is on the swing. And I’m raking the yard, with one eye on the tree. All I don’t need is a dead or injured kitty on my hand. As my son yelled out, “he’s going up the tree,” I’d call to the cat, hoping he’d respond.

I tried gently tossing the soccer ball, hoping he’d scooch-no luck. And then I wondered about spraying some water from the hose, but the sprayer was so messed up, I got more water on me than the cat. And by now, I noticed the birds were watching him, and appeared to be taunting him. “Here dumb kitty,” I could hear them chant. The only problem was they were not on the same tree, which would mean he’d have to do some leaping from one tree to another. So I took out the ladder.

Of course, my son wanted to climb up with me. We got one of the cats toys, hoping he’d come to that, but he just slowly walk down the narrow branch, and then freaked out. You could almost hear him say, “I can’t. I just can’t. I’ll fall. I know I’ll fall. HELP!!! Get me a kitty xanex.” When I thought of him falling and hurting himself, I could only imagine the vet bills-so I climbed up the kids castle, which is near the tree. And before I knew it, I was climbing up.

I reached out, pulled him to me. Strangely, I was waiting to hear, “My hero,” followed by purrs of adoration. Instead, I got a freaked out cat with claws extended, screaming, “I’m going to die…you’re going to drop me..Where are you going..how are you going to get down..I’m going to jump..I can’t..I ought to scratch you..So I moved down slowly and put him in the castle. Of course, he then scurried around the yard and then flopped on the ground from exhaustion. 

It was as if realty hit him. He was on the ground reflecting on his near death experience. For a moment, our other cat came out, and …then quickly returned back in the house and went to sleep.

90 day writing Challenge,day 13: Keeping Score with Clutch Cargo and Ray Rayner

While at soccer practice today, one of the coaches commented that the game conflicts with the Chicago Blackhawks playoff game. I joked that my memories of serious Blackhawk teams also include Ray Rayner. He instantly knew what I was talking about and simply said, “wasn’t that great.”

If you grew up in the Chicagoland area throughout the 70’s-80’s, Ray Rayner was a part of your morning ritual. How do I describe him. Ok, picture a grown man, wearing a jumpsuit. On the jumpsuit, he had patches of paper.

On each piece of paper was a reminder of an upcoming moment. For example, it might tell him to play a cartoon, such as “Clutch Cargo.” You do know who Clutch, paddlefoot and the gang are-right? They were cartoon figures who had human lips that moved when they spoke.  Of course, he also had “Journey to the Beginning of Time, Diver Dan, and holiday classics like Hardrock, Coco and Joe.

 On any given day, he could be lipsynching a song; pretending he was a band leader; making things with popscicle sticks; talking to Cuddly Duddly the dog or Chulveston the duck. It was so spontaneous and free. Something no station would allow today. But what I look forward to the most were the sports scores.

Before ESPN, and the other million sports outlets, there was Ray Raynor. He would simply pick up a piece of chalk and divide and distribute the scores for the Chicago Cubs, Sox,  Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks on a blackboard.And then he would follow it up with some sports highlight film. It just didn’t seem right to leave for school without watching the highlights.

It was a perfect way for a kid  to start the day-Carnation instant breakfast, poptarts, and Ray Rayner.

90 Day Writing Challenge, day 12-Does it hurt baseball’s image when one man touches another?

Today is day 12 of my 90 day writing challenge. For the most part, I’ve got nothing. But a little voice inside my head paid attention to a sports story about an umpire touching Magglio Ordonez after calling him out on strikes. When I read about it, I didn’t understand what the fuss was about. After seeing the video, I still don’t understand. 

The umpire touched his back, in a manner that suggested he made the call, so move on . Its not like he was giving him a frickin massage or a pat on the butt. Never the less , the sports commentator experienced this as a severe boundary violation. In addition, the manager, Jim Leyland, almost gave himself a heart attack, screaming at the umpire. What the F@#!K?How homophobic are these guys? So homophobic that the umpire immediately issued an apology, followed by Mags and his manager doing the same.  

If baseball players are interested in making an amends for physical contact, then do so to the entire nation, for the number of times we have to witness players scratch their balls in high definition tv.

90 day Writing Challenge,day 11: Parents Mad about Kidzbop in McD Happy Meal?

When my kids came home yesterday, they screamed out “mom, took us to old mcDonald’s to eat.” Yikes! And then they showed me the happy meal prize. It was a “Kidz Bop” Cd. I’m not an expert on kids music, but I know that label means any descent song will be completely destroyed. And then to my surprise, I heard the beautiful voice of Cobie Callat, singing the opening to “Bubbly.” I took a sigh of relief until I was assaulted with the sound of a bad childrens choir repeating her words after she sang them. It was so horrible, my sons continued to play it over and over just to see me annoyed.

Trust me, the rest of the CD is not worth listening to. In fact, I would listen to ten repetitions of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Funky Town, before listening to the Kidz Bop version. So imagine my surprise when I heard a lead in for the news, suggesting that parents were not happy with the latest Happy Meal CD.

It appears The Kidz Bop CD No. 6, song 1 is a cover of the song “I Don’t Wanna Be,” originally by Gavin DeGraw. Some jamoks think the guy says “fucking” instead “looking” around.  I read this in one of the Hillbilly Newspapers, “When asked if she was concerned about the song being a bad influence, the grandmother said, ”If my little grandson is going to go to school and sing it, it’s going to be terrible because if they listen to the CD, they can hear what we hear.”

Let me get this straight, McDonalds is going to put their reputation on the line by having a song for kids with the word, “fucking” on it?  You’ve got to be “fucking” Kidzbopping me!

If you’re going to complain about Happy Meal giveaways, check out these: